


Candyland

by enigmaticblue



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-24
Updated: 2012-07-24
Packaged: 2017-11-10 14:21:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/467277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enigmaticblue/pseuds/enigmaticblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony's persistent when he wants something.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Candyland

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thomasina75](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thomasina75/gifts).



> Basically, this is unadulterated fluff and banter for my good friend, who needed cheering up.

Bruce has every intention of turning Tony down when he calls and says, “Remember Candyland?”

 

“I’m kind of in the middle of something here,” Bruce replies, propping the phone between his shoulder and his ear and waving the young woman and squalling child to a seat in the makeshift clinic. There’s blood running down the kid’s leg from what looks like a nasty gash.

 

“Is that a baby?”

 

“It’s a toddler,” Bruce replies, “and it looks like she needs stitches. I’ll have to call you back.”

 

“This isn’t like the last time you said you’d call me back and didn’t, is it?” Tony asks.

 

“Goodbye, Tony,” Bruce says firmly and tucks the phone away, and then turns to the young, scared mother, summoning up his rusty Spanish to reassure her.

 

But he’s smiling, and not just because he wants to put her at ease. He doesn’t want to think about how much he enjoys hearing Tony’s voice.

 

~~~~~

 

_Srsly, CANDYLAND!_

 

Bruce reads the text message after he’s stitched up the cut, and he shakes his head.

 

_Busy_ , he sends back.

 

Bruce isn’t surprised when his phone rings two minutes later. He ignores it. He’s pretty sure he’s not going to be able to say no this time.

 

The phone chimes a minute later. _I didn’t give you the phone so you could ignore me._

 

_Not ignoring you, busy._

 

_Ignoring me._

 

It should be impossible, but Bruce is pretty sure he can hear Tony’s pout from here. He ignores the text. The phone rings. He’s tempted to let it go to voicemail again, but he wouldn’t put it past Tony to fly down to Guatemala just to prove a point.

 

“Tony,” he says with a sigh as he answers.

 

“Seriously, this place is Candyland,” Tony insists, as though they’d never been interrupted. “Don’t lie: you miss it.”

 

“It’s not like you need me there,” Bruce objects.

 

Tony snorts. “Please. Don’t mix up need and want. You’ve been in Guatemala for six weeks now. You deserve some R&R. And science. Don’t forget the science.”

 

Bruce thinks longingly of a soft bed, clean sheets, and pure research. It _does_ sound like the closest thing to heaven. “Maybe for a week,” he hedges.

 

“Please. You can’t get real research done in a week,” Tony scoffs. “It takes that long to come up with a decent hypothesis.”

 

“It takes you _two minutes_ to come up with a decent hypothesis,” Bruce counters.

 

“Fine, a week,” Tony replies. “But the return date on your ticket is open ended. I promise, you’re not going to want to leave.”

 

Bruce rolls his eyes. “We’ll see about that. When do I leave?”

 

“There’s a Jeep coming to pick you up tomorrow,” Tony informs him. “Just go with it.”

 

“What if I had said no?” Bruce asks, realizing that Tony had gone ahead and made plans without his assent.

 

“That’s what a contingency plan is for.”

 

“Did that involve you in the Iron Man suit?”

 

“See you in a few days, Big Guy,” Tony replies smugly and hangs up.

 

Bruce stares at the phone in his hand for a few seconds before deciding that resistance is futile.

 

But if things get too weird, he can always disappear again. There are a few countries he hasn’t visited yet that might need someone who can almost pass for a doctor.

 

~~~~~

 

By the time Tony’s private jet lands in New York City, Bruce is jet lagged and rumpled, hungry and in need of a shower. Not flying commercial definitely cuts down on his stress levels, but that doesn’t mean traveling is exactly _easy_ for him.

 

He half-expects Tony to be waiting for him, but instead there’s only Happy next to a black SUV.

 

“Good to see you again, Dr. Banner,” Happy says. “Can I take your bag?”

 

“No, that’s okay,” Bruce replies, hefting the battered duffel. “I’m good.” He doesn’t ask where Tony is, nor does he let on how disappointed he is to find Tony absent.

 

He nearly falls asleep on the drive to Stark Tower, and when they arrive, he lets Happy take his bag, delivering it and Bruce to the same room Bruce had used the last time he’d been here.

 

Bruce tries not to think about how much this is coming to feel like home.

 

He debates the merits of food versus bed versus shower for about ten seconds before he realizes that he’s falling asleep where he stands, and that decides matters. Bruce removes his shoes and clothes and then falls into bed, sparing a moment to wonder if Tony’s waiting for him somewhere.

 

The thought doesn’t keep him awake; he’s not sure anything would at that point.

 

~~~~~

 

It’s not until breakfast the next morning—some sixteen hours later—that Tony finally turns up. Bruce knows that Happy (or Jarvis, for that matter) would have informed Tony of his arrival, and Jarvis had probably told Tony that he was sleeping.

 

Not that Tony usually lets that stop him; he likes to say that science waits for no man, although he always says it outside Pepper’s hearing.

 

“You don’t call, you don’t write,” Tony says, sauntering into the kitchen. “It’s enough to give a guy a complex.”

 

“You call enough for two people,” Bruce points out, munching on a piece of toast. “And I was—”

 

“Busy,” Tony finishes for him. “So you said. But you came back.”

 

“I missed the lab,” Bruce admits. “And the research. And the bed.”

 

Tony pulls a face. “I notice you left something important off that list.”

 

Bruce takes a sip of coffee. “I have no idea what you mean.”

 

Tony fixes him with a stare. “Come on!”

 

“Hot showers?” Bruce suggests.

 

“Now you’re just being mean,” Tony accuses. “And if you’re going to be that way, see if I show you that new gamma ray imager I bought you.”

 

Bruce frowns. “Don’t tease me.”

 

“Tell me you missed me,” Tony counters, grabbing Bruce’s arm and steering him to the elevator

 

“I missed you,” Bruce replies, the words coming out before he can think better of it. He wishes he could have sounded a little more jocular, but he’s serious, and he’s never been good at casual relationships. That’s part of why he’d left in the first place. “But seriously?”

 

Tony gives him a triumphant smirk as the doors close. “That’s only the beginning. We have a couple of prototypes that are just begging for you to test them out.”

 

“Tony, I don’t know if I can…”

 

Bruce doesn’t get any further than that. The elevator doors open, and Tony pulls him into the lab, which has been slightly rearranged to make way for the new equipment, which Bruce spots immediately.

 

The possibilities are endless in a place like this.

 

“You didn’t have to do this,” Bruce says, his voice hushed as though they’ve walked into a sacred space—which, really, they have.

 

“I think you’re getting _need_ and _want_ mixed up again,” Tony replies, looking far too smug. “In fact, let’s just get this out of the way right now.”

 

Bruce doesn’t see it coming. Tony pushes him back against the wall, hands on Bruce’s shoulders, mouth covering Bruce’s, his tongue tracing Bruce’s lower lip.

 

He makes a rather embarrassing noise and swallows Tony’s laughter.

 

When Tony pulls back, he’s grinning, his expression positively gleeful. “Now _that_ was both want and need, but I can provide further examples if required.”

 

Bruce smiles, and suddenly everything just falls into place. “A scientist never says no to further experimentation.”

 

Tony kisses him again, and Bruce tangles his fingers in Tony’s hair, and he thinks, _Welcome to Candyland._

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Candyland by enigmaticblue](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1082425) by [fire_juggler](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fire_juggler/pseuds/fire_juggler)




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